Monday, July 23, 2012

back to back

It feels good to take a little breather right now. Everything seems to be coming together nicely and I'm on track as far as my plan for the season.

I raced the past 3 weekends in a row. Starting with Miners Revenge. After Miners it was a hard week of training that left me feeling pretty drained for another HOT HOT HOT one at Alterra.

thanks Maja for the cold water

I'm not sure why, but I had it in my head that the Elite 9.9 was the way to go for Alterra and I was wrong. I was not comfortable on the bike at all and couldn't turn a corner to save my life. When I got to the climbs I was hoping to be able to stand on the pedals and accelerate, but it was so bumpy I was forced to sit back down and watch the leaders ride away. In the end I was pretty lucky that a few guys flatted and a few guys crashed and I was able to secure a 3rd place finish after a good final 2 laps.

After Alterra my motivation was a little low and the fatigue was high, but a new road bike always helps that!!! Meet the new Domane!

complete w/ Ultegra DI2 & a sweet paint job!

I started good and had a pretty solid first 2 laps. Unfortunately a little lapped traffic mishap opened a small gap between Tristan and I that I just couldn't close. I'm still missing just a little top end fitness, but I have plenty of time to get there :) Sunburst is one of those courses where the harder you try the slower you go....and the lapped traffic just made it more challenging for me to get into a good rhythm. I started to feel the empty burn as Tristan put 15-20 seconds on me per lap. I thought for sure the chasing duo of Corey and Tyler would catch me, but again you can only go so fast on that course. I finished a solid 2nd.

I felt great during the week of training, but again it left me a little drained for Sunburst...another scorcher of a race. This time is was just as hot, but less shade to hide in...totally exposed. I was actually feeling better after my bigger week of training than the previous week and I was back on the Top Fuel.

thanks Paul for the cold water

I started good and had a pretty solid first 2 laps. Unfortunately a little lapped traffic mishap opened a small gap between Tristan and I that I just couldn't close. I'm still missing just a little top end fitness, but I have plenty of time to get there :) Sunburst is one of those courses where the harder you try the slower you go....and the lapped traffic just made it more challenging for me to get into a good rhythm. I started to feel the empty burn as Tristan put 20 seconds on me per lap during the last half of the race. I thought for sure the chasing duo of Corey and Tyler would catch me, but again you can only go so fast on that course. I finished a solid 2nd.

Now its time for some much deserved R&R before Ore To Shore. Thanks for reading.